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In the News | Bill Stanley honored with the Crawford Award

Three Rivers College Foundation President Bill Stanley has been named the 2017 recipient of William Crawford Distinguished Service Award by the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut. Both The Day and the Norwich Bulletin recognized his accomplishments through editorials, which are below.

Stanley credits mentors for the Crawford Award

New London, CT (The Day, November 8, 2017) — As befits one who merits an award for service to neighbors and improving the quality of life in eastern Connecticut, Bill Stanley stands on the shoulders, if not of giants, then of public-spirited mentors who guided his professional life.

Inspired by them, he has shaped a career based on the expressed belief that when the local hospital, the United Way, and a host of other good causes are doing well, the community will do well. A series of sagacious bosses has acknowledged that vision and encouraged him to lead, both on and off the job.

In the philanthropy of this region, William A. Stanley stands tall. It is fitting, then, that the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut selected him as the 2017 recipient of the William Crawford Distinguished Service Award. The award, which the chamber will present tonight at the Mystic Marriott in Groton during a dinner in Stanley’s honor, cites his decades of service to the region’s nonprofit community.

For nearly two decades, Stanley has served as vice president for development and community relations at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London. While overseeing community relations and millions of dollars in fundraising at L+M — now part of Yale-New Haven Health — Stanley has served lengthy leadership terms on the boards of Three Rivers Community College Foundation, the United Way, the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, and the New London Redevelopment Agency. Locally, the Boy Scouts and the NAACP have recognized his leadership with awards.

His is a public service career that can be told in chapters, each one with a theme and heroes.

From his parents, the late state Sen. William B. Stanley and Margaret Stanley, Bill Stanley learned public service and volunteerism. He developed a taste for politics by helping to run the elder Stanley’s campaign headquarters in the family rec room in Norwich.

From Co-publisher Deane C. Avery at The Day, where he went to work after a stint at The Norwich Bulletin, Stanley learned not only the tenets of journalism but the bigger picture of how to build a career in the profession, particularly in political reporting. The willingness of Avery, and later, former state Sen. Lew Rome, to guide a younger colleague, showed him what mentorship can do.

Two years as The Day’s Capitol bureau chief positioned him for the campaign staff of Gov. William O’Neill, a straightforward politician who refused to engage in negative campaign advertising. In O’Neill, he saw both decency and loyalty in politics.

At Lawrence + Memorial, his longest tenure, he has found his ultimate heroes and role models: the medical and support staff who work long hours in tough jobs and the volunteers who expect no limelight, just the opportunity to serve. He singles out Naomi Rachleff, whom he describes as working 70 years, since candystriper days, for nothing other than a love of the hospital.

The great gift of all his mentors, and Stanley’s own return on that gift, is a community that benefits not only from the dollars raised but also from the unity of people coming together for a good cause. He exercises calm and affable leadership with the loyalty, decency and unselfishness he salutes in his role models. He seems to be everywhere there is a good cause to be served and, because of that, many people in the region have seen him on the podiums of banquets and fundraisers, the ultimate master of ceremonies of eastern Connecticut civic causes. And whether they know it or not, it is Bill Stanley who polices the speakers, keeps them on time, then wishes them a safe drive home.

As someone who has spent years working for causes that benefit people who are poor, sick, homeless or jobless, Stanley worries about Connecticut’s decline and about the safety nets for them. The politician in him wants urgent political compromise to solve our state’s ills, but no doubt the philanthropist-mentor-volunteer in him will keep working on solutions for the nonprofit agencies that try to fill the gaps.

The Day congratulates our former colleague Bill Stanley on this well-deserved honor.

Our View: Stanley’s dedication to community service a shining example

Norwich, CT (Norwich Bulletin, November 8, 2017) — Even for wordsmiths, it’s difficult to frame what William “Bill” Stanley truly means to southeastern Connecticut; the time he’s given and the decades of service to a variety of organizations.

The Norwich native calls his volunteerism “a great ride.” We call him the very definition of a role model.

Stanley, the Vice President of Development and Community Relations for Lawrence + Memorial Hospital/Yale New Haven Health, is being honored tonight as the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut’s 2017 recipient of the William Crawford Distinguished Service Award.

The Crawford Award honors those who go above and beyond the call of duty in helping one’s neighbors – a strong depiction of Stanley.

Whether coordinating fundraising campaigns or assisting with community events, Stanley is always there for the local nonprofit community. He’s called a “friend to all.”

Stanley received his associate degree from Three Rivers Community College in 1974 and graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1977.

He worked for two years at The Norwich Bulletin and 10 years at The Day before becoming Capitol bureau chief in Hartford. Stanley worked as campaign press secretary for former Governor William O’Neill, became a lobbyist and then was named director of corporate communications at The William W. Backus Hospital. He has been at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital since 1999.

His passion for service is outlined in his accomplishments: serving for six years as commissioner of the New London Development Corporation; chairing for five years the American Heart Walk Association’s Eastern Connecticut Heart Walk for five years – he helped coordinate more than 12,000 participants and raised more than $900,000 – participating for nine years in the New London Rotary Club; and serving for 13 years for the United Way of Southeastern CT.

He currently sits on the Three Rivers Community College Foundation’s Board of Directors. He also sat on the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT’s board of directors for 20 years – his most recent term ending in 2015.

Lawrence + Memorial President Patrick Green said: “Bill’s long history in our community, from his early years as a newspaper reporter, his activism and political expertise on important issues at the State Capitol in Hartford, and his tireless dedication to the promotion of healthcare in our community, truly make him a worthy recipient of this prestigious honor.”

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